


He Needs A Friend

by KrysKrossZee



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Emotions, Feels, Jealousy, Light Angst, M/M, Quidditch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:33:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27823783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrysKrossZee/pseuds/KrysKrossZee
Summary: "Why does this mean so much to you?" Charlie asked as he reached for Oliver's hand, his need to make the man feel better was now overshadowing his own feelings about all of this."I guess… I just know how it feels to not really have anyone to talk to… And I thought who better than the Weasleys..."
Relationships: Charlie Weasley/Oliver Wood, Oliver Wood & Draco Malfoy
Comments: 9
Kudos: 14
Collections: Make it... Quidditch!





	He Needs A Friend

**Author's Note:**

> War

Charlie had never been at school with the blond-haired ferret but that didn't mean that he hadn't heard all about him through his brothers who had - especially from Ron who Charlie was convinced was harbouring a crush, but that was something that he would have to unpack on a different occasion. Today he had to deal with the fact that his boyfriend had brought Draco Malfoy along to the annual Weasley Quidditch tournament.

"He needs more friends." Oliver had said when he had announced that morning over breakfast that he had invited the man to the Burrow. This hadn't at all excused Oliver's behaviour. Did he not understand that the Malfoy boy  _ hated _ his family? Did he not understand that this was a family affair and he had basically just invited the enemy?

Charlie was barely talking to Oliver by the time that they reached the Burrow. He was fully aware that he was being petty, but he found that he didn't care. Oliver had to know that this wasn't acceptable. He hadn't even gotten on with Draco when they were at school, but apparently, there was something good about Draco now that he was on the same team.

Charlie wasn't usually one to hold grudges but there was something about the idea of someone bullying not one but four of his siblings that lit a fire under his ass. He couldn't help but hate the man, especially when to his knowledge he had never apologised to any of them. This was also ignoring the fact that the man had plotted to kill people.

"Charlie…" He could hear the desperation in his boyfriend's voice just as he was about to push the front door open and so with a sigh he turned to face Oliver.

"I'll tolerate him for today, but if he dares to put one single toe out of line then I'm going to kick his ass so hard he won't be able to play in your next match, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know." Oliver's voice was small in a way that made Charlie feel guilty. He hadn't set out to upset him; he was just not at all any good at hiding his feelings when he was hurt or annoyed and he was feeling both of those things today.

"Why does this mean so much to you?" Charlie asked as he reached for Oliver's hand, his need to make the man feel better was now overshadowing his own feelings about all of this.

"I guess… I just know how it feels to not really have anyone to talk to… And I thought who better than the Weasleys..." Oliver's voice was a whisper and Charlie ended up wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close. Most people saw Oliver Wood as the hard type who didn't really have room for anything in his life other than Quidditch, but Charlie knew that that wasn't the case at all. He squeezed Oliver to him for a moment before he pulled away and the two of them headed into the house which was already buzzing with activity - but then when did the Burrow ever stop?

Malfoy was already there when they entered the living room, and it was a surprise to Charlie to see that he didn't actually look out of place there, sitting beside Hermione and Harry with Teddy on his lap. It had slipped his mind that Teddy was a cousin of Draco's until he saw them together and he realised that Draco almost had as much right to be here as any of their other family members did.

He knew that if they ended up playing Quidditch on opposite sides then it was likely that it would turn into a bloodbath, but he tried to push that out of his mind for Oliver's sake as they were greeted by a babbling Victoire who was demanding to be picked up with her arms raised as she stood in front of them. Charlie scooped her up and pressed several kisses all over her face as he ignored the way that Oliver made his way straight over to Draco.

He realised then that he was jealous and that made a knot form in the pit of his stomach. He had never been jealous before, but then Oliver had never shown interest in anyone other than him before and he wasn't exactly sure how to deal with that. He busied himself instead with his niece and made his way over to his elder brother and wife.

Bill's expression told him that he knew that something was up, but the middle of the Burrow living room was not the place to have this discussion and that was something that the oldest Weasley seemed to understand as Charlie took a seat beside them. He tried not to watch Oliver as he talked and  _ laughed _ with Malfoy, but he just couldn't help it, especially not when Victoire left him and ran off with Teddy.

Charlie eventually decided to head on outside, under the pretence of setting up their makeshift pitch, but really he had just wanted to get out of there. He loved being home, of course he did, but today was different. For some reason, today it just didn't feel like his home. He knew on some level that he was being completely ridiculous and this was the exact reason that he had sworn off dating for most of his life, that he had never allowed himself to get attached to anyone. People came with emotions and not all of those emotions were good.

"Hey." A voice that Charlie was not at all expecting to hear came from behind him. "Wood said that I should thank you for inviting me."

Charlie pulled in a sharp breath before he turned to face Malfoy. "He's trying to make out that I want to be friends with you." He said, knowing that he couldn't lie to save his own life so it was probably best if he was just honest about his dislike that the man was there at a family event.

"You don't have to pretend you do." The blond said with a laugh. "And it's alright that you don't want to be friends. But I do still need to thank you for letting me come here. It's been the pick-me-up that I needed…"

Charlie studied the man's face for a moment as he finally understood what Oliver meant about him needing a friend. Growing up in a family as large as Charlie had, he had never once experienced loneliness. "The match will be an even better one then." He said softly. Part of him wanted to embrace Malfoy the way that he did Oliver, but as his thoughts flickered back to Oliver he was reminded of how Malfoy had made Oliver laugh, and that was enough to make him back off.

"Thanks, Charlie." Malfoy's smile was infectious despite the jealousy that Charlie felt. He didn't know what it was about they smile that made it melt away almost completely - maybe it was the fact that he had never seen that particular smile before. Whenever he'd been forced to be in the same room as the man, it has always been a smirk that had graced his face, and not one that was at all becoming of him. This smile, however, lit up all of his features in a way that Charlie hadn't ever expected.

And he found that he hated Malfoy for it. But not because it was a bad thing, but because it made him feel  _ something _ and that something wasn't about the love of his life.

"Don't mention it." Charlie muttered as he turned away in an attempt to get himself to think about anything else as the war inside him raged on, his emotions battling each other - jealousy and curiosity, two things that never went hand in hand, at least not to Charlie's knowledge anyway. He pulled his wand out from behind his ear and instead of thinking about what was going on inside of his head, he tried to focus on the task at hand.

He didn't know if Malfoy was still watching him or not but he didn't dare look just in case he was smiling that damn smile that Charlie now couldn't get out of his head. He found himself mad at Oliver all over again for daring to invite this man to his parents house in the first place. It was Oliver's fault that he was feeling these things, or at least that was what Charlie had convinced himself of when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind.

For a horrible moment he thought that it was Malfoy but when he caught the familiar smell of leather and old spice he knew that it had to be Oliver - no-one else could pull off that combination after all.

"You alright?" Oliver's voice whispered in his ear, making him instantly hate him just that little bit less.

"Yeah, I just needed some air. That living room is getting smaller." Charlie hummed before he turned to face Oliver, his anger with him disappearing instantly.

"Malfoy says you made him feel welcome though, so thank you. Even Ron's been… well, he's been Ron but he's at least tried and considering everything that Draco put him through… Just. Thank you."

Charlie let his eyes flicker across Oliver's face for a moment. He wanted to understand why this meant so much to him, but he figured that was going to be something that would continue to puzzle him. Both Oliver and Malfoy didn't have siblings and while it definitely bothered Charlie that Malfoy was able to understand Oliver on a level that Charlie probably never would, he supposed he had to be happy that Oliver was at least had someone that he could relate to.

"Are we okay?" He found himself asking before he could stop himself. He didn't want to think that there were any cracks in their relationship but the couldn't help but feel insecure about everything when he had started to feel any sort of negative emotion. He really wasn't used to feeling any bad feelings at all.

"Of course." Oliver pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. "Come, let's play some Quidditch and you'll feel better." He said with a smile before he lead Charlie back towards the house and his family - and back towards Malfoy who was still smiling that damned smile that confused Charlie even more. The emotions war would continue to rage, it seemed.


End file.
